Kgoshi seeks justice for dead initiates in Gert Sibande District Municipality

This week marks exactly four weeks since four young boys died after they were allegedly abused while attending an ingoma (initiation) in Leslie near Bethal within the Gert Sibande District Municipality.

This incident happened at an initiation school at Goedehoop Farm. According to information, the initiates were allegedly kicked and abused while attending their sessions, until some of them fainted. They were allegedly kicked by their caregivers and ordered to stand naked in cold and snowy weather.

Sourced information revealed that a medical doctor was called to attend to one of the initiates and managed to save one.
Angered by these reports, the chairperson of the Mpumalanga House of Traditional Leaders and the national president of the Congress of Traditional Leaders of South Africa, Kgoshi Lameck Mokoena, called for an inquiry to be established to get to the bottom of the matter.
“We need to first establish what transpired there so we can take appropriate action informed by the outcomes of such investigations. We are happy that the police are said to be working on this matter as well trying to get the answers,” said Mokoena.

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He lashed out at initiation schools that do not comply with the Customary Initiation Act of 2021, which among other things, prohibits the assault of initiates as a form of disciplinary method.
“There is no place for any initiation school in Mpumalanga that does not want to comply with the rules of ingoma. If there are initiation schools in the province which still want to practise this sacred ritual as they please, then we want to warn them to leave the province, because we are coming for them,” said Mokoena.

He was, however, happy that other initiation schools conduct their affairs according to the ambit of the law.
Lindiwe Msibi, the spokesperson for the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) in Mpumalanga, said the department’s task team is currently in meetings, trying to get answers and to the bottom of this incident.

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She said they will be able to comment fully on the matter once they have all the information and the police report as well.
A provincial police spokesperson, Brigadier Selvy Mohlala, confirmed the incident and said investigations are under way.
Mokoena concluded by threatening to close all initiation schools found not to be practising the ingoma according to the country’s Ingoma Customary Initiation Act.
He said they will continue working closely with the police and Cogta to achieve this.